Pan-Turkism

Pan-Turkism is a movement which emerged during the 1880s among Turkic intellectuals of Azerbaijan (part of the Russian Empire at the time) and the Ottoman Empire (modern day Turkey), with its aim being the cultural and political unification of all Turkic peoples.[1][2][3][4][5]Turanism is a closely related movement but a more general term than Turkism, since Turkism applies only to Turkic peoples. However, researchers and politicians steeped in Turkic ideology have used these terms interchangeably in many sources and works of literature.[6] Although the Turkic peoples share historical, cultural and linguistic roots, the rise of a pan-Turkic political movement is a phenomenon of the 19th and 20th centuries.[7] It was in part a response to the development of Pan-Slavism and Pan-Germanism in Europe, and influenced Pan-Iranism in Asia. Ziya Gökalp defined pan-Turkism as a cultural, academic, and philosophical[8] and political[9] concept advocating the unity of Turkic peoples.

In research literature, "pan-Turkism" is used to describe the political, cultural and ethnic unity of all Turkic-speaking people. "Turkism" began to be used with the prefix "pan-" (from the Greek πᾶν, pan = all).[10]

Proponents use the latter as a point of comparison, since "Turkic" is more a linguistic and cultural distinction than a racial or ethnic description. This differentiates it from "Turkish", which is an ethnic term for people primarily residing in Turkey. Pan-Turkic ideas and reunification movements have been popular since the collapse of the Soviet Union in Central Asian and other Turkic countries.

In 1804, the Tatar theologian Ghabdennasir Qursawi wrote a treatise calling for the modernization of Islam. Qursawi was a Jadid (from the Arabic jadid, "new"). The Jadids encouraged critical thinking, supporting education and the equality of the sexes, and advocated tolerance for other faiths, Turkic cultural unity, and openness to Europe’s cultural legacy.[11] The Jadid movement was founded in 1843 in Kazan. Its aim was a semi-secular modernization and educational reform, with a national (not religious) identity for the Turks. Before that they were Muslim subjects of the Russian Empire, which maintained this attitude until its end.[12]

After the Wäisi movement, the Jadids advocated national liberation. After 1907, many supporters of Turkic unity immigrated to the Ottoman Empire.

The newspaper Türk in Cairo was published by exiles from the Ottoman Empire after the suspension of the 1876 constitution and the persecution of liberal intellectuals. It was the first publication to use the ethnic designation as its title.[13]Yusuf Akçura published "Three Types of Policy" (Üç tarz-ı siyaset) anonymously in 1904, the earliest manifesto of a pan-Turkic nationalism.[13] Akçura argued that the supra-ethnic union espoused by the Ottomans was unrealistic. The Pan-Islamic model had advantages, but Muslim populations were under colonial rule which would oppose unification. He concluded that an ethnic Turkish nation would require the cultivation of a national identity; a pan-Turkish empire would abandon the Balkans and Eastern Europe in favor of Central Asia. The first publication of "Three Types of Policy" had a negative reaction, but it became more influential by its third publication in 1911 in Istanbul. The Ottoman Empire had lost its African territory to Italy and it would soon lose the Balkans, and pan-Turkish nationalism became a more feasible (and popular) political strategy.

In 1908 the Committee of Union and Progress came to power in Ottoman Turkey, and the empire adopted a nationalistic ideology. This contrasted with its largely Muslim ideology dating back to the 16th century, when the sultan was a caliph of his Muslim lands. Leaders espousing Pan-Turkism fled from Russia to Istanbul, where a strong pan-Turkic movement arose; the Turkish pan-Turkic movement grew into a nationalistic, ethnically oriented replacement of the caliphate with a state. After the fall of the Ottoman Empire with its multi-cultural and multi-ethnic population, influenced by the nationalism of the Young Turks, some tried to replace the empire with a Turkish commonwealth. Leaders like Mustafa Kemal Atatürk acknowledged that such a goal was impossible, replacing pan-Turkic idealism with a nationalism aimed at preserving an Anatolian nucleus.

The Türk Yurdu Dergisi (Journal of the Turkish Homeland) was founded in 1911 by Akçura. This was the most important Turkist publication of the time, "in which, along with other Turkic exiles from Russia, [Akçura] attempted to instill a consciousness about the cultural unity of all Turkic peoples of the world."[13]

The aim of all Turks is to unite with the Turkic borders. History is affording us today the last opportunity. In order for the Islamic world not to be forever fragmented it is necessary that the campaign against Karabagh be not allowed to abate. As a matter of fact drive the point home in Azeri circles that the campaign should be pursued with greater determination and severity.[14]

Pan-Turkic movements and organizations are focusing on the economic integration of the sovereign Turkic states and hope to form an economic and political union similar to the European Union.

Turkey's efforts have not met the expectations of the Turkic states or the country's pan-Turkist supporters. Modest housing projects promised to the Crimean Tatars have not been completed after many years.

Some language communities have switched to the Latin alphabet, but the official Turkmen, Uzbek and Azerbaijani Latin alphabets are not as compatible with the Turkish alphabet as Turkey had hoped after a Pan-Turkic Alphabet with 35 letters had been agreed upon in the early 1990s prior to the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
While the Kazakh alphabets already include Latin ones, Kazakhstan has still not switched away from the Cyrillic alphabet. Kyrgyzstan has not seriously considered adopting the Latin script, but the idea was entertained by some politicians during the country's first few years of independence and roman Kyrgyz alphabets exist.

Pan-Turkism is often perceived as a new form of Turkish imperial ambition. Some view the Young Turk leaders who saw pan-Turkist ideology as a way to reclaim the prestige of the Ottoman Empire as racist and chauvinistic.[15][16] Some scholars believe that pan-Turkism guided ethnic cleansing, such as the Armenian, Greek, and Assyrian genocides.

During the 1940s, pro German pan-Turkists absorbed Nazi propaganda.[24][25] Some sources claim that Nihal Atsız advocated Nazi doctrines and adopted a Hitler-style haircut and mustache.[26]Alparslan Türkeş, a leading pan-Turkist, took a pro-Hitler position during the war[27] and developed close connections with Nazi leaders in Germany.[28] Several pan-Turkic groups in Europe apparently had ties to Nazi Germany (or its supporters) at the start of the war, if not earlier.[29] The Turco-Tatars in Romania cooperated with the Iron Guard, a Nazi-inspired organization.[29] Although Turkish government archives for the World War II years have not been released, the level of contact can be ascertained from German archives.[29] Although early in the war the Turkish government was officially neutral,[29] confidential semi-official contacts between Germany and Turkey began in 1941.[29]

There was sympathy for Germany in Turkey at the time,[29] and a ten-year Turco-German treaty of friendship was signed in Ankara on 18 January 1941.[29] Official and semi-official meetings between German ambassador Franz von Papen and other German officials and Turkish officials, including General H. E. Erkilet (of Tatar origin and a frequent contributor to pan-Turkic journals) took place in the second half of 1941 and the early months of 1942.[29] The Turkish officials included General Ali Fuad Erdem and Nuri Pasha, brother of Enver Pasha.[29]

While Erkilet discussed military contingencies,[29] Nuri Pasha told the Germans about his plan to create independent states which would be allies (not satellites) of Turkey.[29] These states would be formed from the Turkic-speaking populations in Crimea, Azerbaijan, Central Asia, northwest Iran, and northern Iraq.[29] Nuri Pasha offered to assist propaganda activities for this cause. However, Turkey also feared for the Turkic minorities in the USSR[29] and told von Papen that it could not join Germany until the USSR was crushed.[29] The Turkish government may have been apprehensive about Soviet might,[29] which kept the country out of the war.[29] On a less-official level, Turkic emigrants from the Soviet Union played a crucial role in negotiations and contacts between Turkey and Germany; among them were pan-Turkic activists Zeki Velidi Togan, Mammed Amin Rasulzade, Mirza Bala, Ahmet CafarOglu, Sayid Shamil and Ayaz Ishaki.[29] Several Tatar military units of Turkic speakers in the Turco-Tatar and Caucasian regions who had been prisoners of war joined the war against the USSR, generally fighting as guerrillas[29] in the hope of independence and a pan-Turkic union.[29] The units, which were reinforced, numbered several hundred thousand.[29] Turkey took a cautious approach at the government level,[29] but pan-Turkist groups were exasperated by Turkish inaction and what they saw as the waste of a golden opportunity to reach the goals of pan-Turkism.[29]

Pan-Turkism and nationalist historiography has been used to deny the identity of Armenians and Kurds[citation needed]. At the same time, various revisionist claims were made on ancient peoples of the region and beyond[citation needed].

Most of the Turkic peoples settled in present-day territories during the Turkic migrations by assimilating or pushing out previous settlers and issue of indigeneity is a major problem for Turkic nationalist historiography and ideology.[citation needed] Many historical researches of Turkic writers considered as falsifications.[citation needed]

Clive Foss, professor of ancient history at the University of Massachusetts Boston, has done extensive archeological work in Turkey and he is an expert on ancient Armenian coins. In his article, "The Turkish View of Armenian History: A Vanishing Nation", Foss writes that the Turkish government was "systematically changing the names of villages to make them more Turkish. Any name which does not have a meaning in Turkish, or does not sound Turkish, whatever its origin, is replaced by a banal name assigned by a bureau in Ankara, with no respect for local conditions or traditions".[35] According to Foss, the Turkish government "presented [Armenia] ambiguously, without clear identification of [its] builders, or as examples of the influence of the superiority of Turkish architecture. In all this, a clear line is evident: the Armenian presence is to be consigned, as far as possible, to oblivion".[35]

Foss notes critically that in 1982: The Armenian File in the Light of History, Cemal Anadol writes that the Iranian Scythians and Parthians are Turks. According to 'genius' Anadol, the Armenians welcomed the Turks into the region; their language is a mixture with no roots and their alphabet is mixed, with 11 characters borrowed from the ancient Turkic alphabet. Foss calls this view historical revisionism: "Turkish writings have been tendentious: history has been viewed as performing a useful service, proving or supporting a point of view, and so it is treated as something flexible which can be manipulated at will".[35] He concludes, "The notion, which seems well established in Turkey, that the Armenians were a wandering tribe without a home, who never had a state of their own, is of course entirely without any foundation in fact. The logical consequence of the commonly expressed view of the Armenians is that they have no place in Turkey, and never did. The result would be the same if the viewpoint were expressed first, and the history written to order. In a sense, something like this seems to have happened, for most Turks who grew up under the Republic were educated to believe in the ultimate priority of Turks in all parts of history, and to ignore Armenians all together; they had been clearly consigned to oblivion."[35]

In Tsarist Russian circles, pan-Turkism was considered a political, irredentist and aggressive idea.[42] Turkic peoples in Russia were threatened by Turkish expansion,[clarification needed] and I. Gasprinsky and his followers were accused of being Turkish spies. After the October Revolution, the Bolshevik attitude to Türkism did not differ from the attitude of the Russian Empire. At the 10th Congress of Bolshevik Communist Party in 1921, the party "condemned pan-Turkism as a slope to bourgeois-democratic nationalism". The emergence of a pan-Turkism scare in Soviet propaganda made it one of the most frightening political labels in the USSR. The most widespread accusation used in the lethal repression of educated Tatars and other Turkic peoples during the 1930s was that of pan-Turkism.[43]

Russia, China, and Iran say that they perceive pan-Turkism as a new form of Turkish imperial ambition, and some see it as racist, despite the fact that Turks are clearly not of a single race. Critics believe that the concept is flawed because of the distinct dialects spoken by the Turkic peoples, which sometimes led to miscommunication. Concerns also exist about religious differences. Although most Turks are Sunni Islam, the Azerbaijanis are Shi'a. According to some, mostly critics from Iran, pan-Turkists are at the forefront of historical revisionism about world history in general and Turkic history in particular.[44]

^"Pan-Turkism". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Retrieved 19 Jul 2009. Political movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which had as its goal the political union of all Turkish-speaking peoples in the Ottoman Empire, Russia, China, Iran, and Afghanistan.

^Robert F. Melson, "The Armenian Genocide" in Kevin Reilly (Editor), Stephen Kaufman (Editor), Angela Bodino (Editor) "Racism: A Global Reader (Sources and Studies in World History)", M.E. Sharpe (January 2003). pg 278:"Concluding that their liberal experiment had been a failure, CUP leaders turned to Pan-Turkism, a xenophobic and chauvinistic brand of nationalism that sought to create a new empire based on Islam and Turkish ethnicity."

^Jacob M. Landau. Pan-Turkism: From Irredentism to Cooperation. India University Press, 1995. 2nd Edition.
pg 45: "Pan-Turkism's historic chance arrived shortly before and during First World War, when it was adopted a guiding principle of state policy by an influential group among the Young Turks"

^Robert F. Melson, "The Armenian Genocide" in Kevin Reilly (Editor), Stephen Kaufman (Editor), Angela Bodino (Editor) "Racism: A Global Reader (Sources and Studies in World History)", M.E. Sharpe (January 2003). pg 278: "Concluding that their liberal experiment had been a failure, CUP leaders turned to Pan-Turkism, a xenophobic and chauvinistic brand of nationalism that sought to create a new empire based on Islam and Turkish ethnicity ... It was in this context of revolutionary and ideological transformation and war that the fateful decision to destroy the Armenians was taken."

^The International Association of Genocide Scholars, Affirmation, Armenian Genocide, "That this assembly of the Association of Genocide Scholars in its conference held in Montreal, June 11–3, 1997, reaffirms that the mass murder of Armenians in Turkey in 1915 is a case of genocide which conforms to the statutes of the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide. It further condemns the denial of the Armenian Genocide by the Turkish government and its official and unofficial agents and supporters".

^Robert Melson, Leo Kuper, "Revolution and genocide: on the origins of the Armenian genocide and the Holocaust", University of Chicago Press, 1996. pg 139: "It was in this context of exclusion and war that CUP made a decision to destroy the Armenians as a viable national community in Turkey and the pan-Turkic empire. Thus a revolutionary transformation of ideology and identity for the majority had dangerous implications for the minority. As will be discussed in Chapter 5, the Turkish nationalists revolution, as initiated by the Young Turks, set the stage for the Genocide of Armenians during the Great war"

^Jacob M. Landau, "Radical Politics in Modern Turkey", BRILL, 1974. pg 194: "In the course of the Second World War, various circles in Turkey absorbed Nazi propaganda; these were pro-German and admired Nazism, which they grasped as a doctrine of warlike dynamism and a source of national inspiration, on which they could base their pan-Turkic and anti-Soviet ideology"

^John M. VanderLippe , "The politics of Turkish democracy", SUNY Press, 2005. "A third group was led by Nihal Atsiz, who favored a Hitler style haircut and mustache, and advocated racist Nazi doctrines"

^John M. VanderLippe, The Politics of Turkish Democracy: Ismet Inonu and the Formation of the Multi-Party System, 1938-1950, (State University of New York Press, 2005), 108;"A third group was led by Nihal Atsiz, who favored a Hitler style haircut and moustache, and advocated Nazi racist doctrines."

^Peter Davies, Derek Lynch, "The Routledge Companion to Fascism and the Far Right", Routledge, 2002. pg 244: "Alparslan Türkeş: Leader of a Turkish neo-fascist movement, Nationalist Action Party(MHP). During the war he took a pro-Hitler position and was imprisoned after a 1960 coup attempt against his country's ruler.

^Berch Berberoglu, " Turkey in crisis: from state capitalism to neocolonialism", Zed, 1982. 2nd edition. pg 125: "Turkes established close ties with Nazi leaders in Germany in 1945 "

^Balci, Bayram (2014). "Between ambition and realism: Turkey's engagement in the South Caucasus". In Agadjanian, Alexander; Jödicke, Ansgar; van der Zweerde, Evert. Religion, Nation and Democracy in the South Caucasus. Routledge. p. 258. ...the second president of independent Azerbaijan, Abulfaz Elchibey, was a prominent pan-Turkist nationalist...

^Murinson, Alexander (2009). Turkey's Entente with Israel and Azerbaijan: State Identity and Security in the Middle East and Caucasus. Routledge. p. 35. ISBN9781135182441. Naturally, they were associated with Elchibey's pan-Turkist aspirations...

^Larrabee, F. Stephen; Lesser, Ian O. (2003). Turkish Foreign Policy in an Age of Uncertainty. Rand Corporation. p. 123. ISBN9780833034045. The late Alparslan Turkes, the former head of the MHP, actively promoted a Pan-Turkic agenda.